|
Greetings!
Spring -- the season of growth
and renewed hope -- is finally here. What better
time to highlight good news from Open Your Heart
to the Hungry and Homeless!
First,
as I reported in our last newsletter, Open Your
Heart had its best campaign year ever, raising
$925,000 in contributions and pledges! I would
like to highlight two outstanding Open Your Heart
workplace giving campaign partners -- the
Metropolitan Council and the Walker Art
Center.
· The Metropolitan
Council, with its employees from Metro Transit,
Environmental Services and Administration,
increased its giving an unbelievable 35% over the
previous year. Employee giving to Open Your Heart
by Metropolitan Council employees has doubled in
the last eight years.  Each year the
Metropolitan Council campaign is very successful
in getting their employees involved in a fun way.
This year employees donated items for a silent
auction at their traditional wrap-up charitable
giving event. "It was encouraging to see so many
employees participating in the event in these
trying economic times," commented Tom Weaver,
Regional Administrator. "It speaks volumes about
the generous character of our
staff."
· The Walker Art
Center offered Open Your Heart to the Hungry and
Homeless as a new choice for its employees to
support, and the employees responded in an amazing
way.  "With everyone sobered by
personal financial strains over the past year, it
would have been difficult to predict a record
setting year for the Walker Community Fund Drive,"
said Holly Hinton, HR staff member. But employee
giving increased by $1,424 over the Walker's
previous year's fund drive, with employees
contributing $1,796 to Open Your Heart.
On
behalf of everyone at Open Your Heart to the
Hungry and Homeless, including the thousands of
people who are helped through our work, we salute
the employees at the Walker Art Center and the
Metropolitan Council and give our heartfelt
thanks!
Second,
April is the month that we celebrate "People in
Action" -- ordinary people doing extraordinary
things through volunteerism. On a national scope,
our country's volunteer force is over 61 million
people. We all know that volunteerism in Minnesota
is a vital force and that Minnesotans of all ages
use their energy, time and talent to lead by
example through their volunteer work.
I thank our Open Your Heart
volunteers, who contributed 2,070 hours in 2009.
On a regular basis, they show that by working
together we have the fortitude to meet our
challenges and the collective power to make
positive changes in our community. Even though we
see continued and increasing needs for assistance
with housing and food, our volunteers keep alive
our vision that all Minnesotans be free from
hunger and homelessness.
May you find
renewed hope and personal growth this
spring!
Arna Yetter
Executive
Director
"Volunteers are the
only human beings on the face of the earth who
reflect this nation's compassion, unselfish
caring, patience and just plain love for one
another." -- Erma Bombeck
| |
|
Agency Spotlight:
Damiano
Center, Duluth, MN
 Open Your Heart to the Homeless and
Hungry has granted Damiano of Duluth, Inc.,
$10,000 to be used for roof repairs on the
building housing its on-site feeding program. The
Damiano Center, whose mission is "Building a
Stronger Community, Serving People In Need,"
operates a Kids Café, which served 5,021 meals to
over 500 children in 2009. It also provides
clothing, housing assistance and social services
information to people in need in northern
Minnesota.For
more information, visit Damiano of
Duluth.
|
|
Agency
Spotlight:
Bridge for Youth, Minneapolis,
MN
Open Your
Heart is pleased to assist The Bridge for Youth,
Minneapolis, with a grant of $9,997 to purchase,
deliver and install laundry equipment (one
commercial washer and two dryers) for use in its
emergency shelter. Since 1970, The Bridge for
Youth has served as a 24-hour access point,
without waiting lists, fees or red tape, for youth
and families in need. Services include a 24-hour
hotline, walk-in counseling, and family
counseling, in addition to its emergency shelter.
For more information, visit Bridge for
Youth.
| |
| |
Homeless in
Minnesota on the Rise, According to New Wilder
Study
After dropping off
in the early and mid-2000's, the number of homeless in
Minnesota spiked in 2009, according to the latest Wilder
Research statewide survey, conducted last October and
released March 31. Wilder surveys the number of homeless
in Minnesota on one night every three years.
In this study, there were 9,452 adults, youth and
children in homeless shelters, transitional housing and
on the streets, up from 7,751 in 2006. There were 3,251
children counted with their parents on the night of the
study, 500 more than in the previous survey; the number
of homeless families with children jumped 27%.
Wilder will release more data from the study
throughout the year. For more initial findings, visit
Wilder Research.
|
 |
|
Kowalski's Customers
Care About Open Your Heart to the Hungry and
Homeless
Over the last
three years, Open Your Heart to the Hungry and Homeless
has received almost $4,500 through the Kowalski's
Groceries for Good Causes program. All told, the program
has given $500,000 to local
nonprofits.
To participate,
just shop at one of seven Kowalski's stores: Eagan, Eden
Prairie, Grand Avenue, Parkview, Uptown, White Bear
Lake, and Woodbury. When you leave the store, place your
receipt in the bin marked Open Your Heart. The donation
is based on the number of receipts, not how much is
spent.
For more
on Open Your Heart's participation in Groceries for Good
Causes, click here; for more on Kowalski's, click
here.
| |
